Lucy lives at 64 Zoo Lane, right next door to the zoo. Every night she climbs out of her bedroom window, slides down the long long neck of Georgina the Giraffe and listens to one of the animals tell her a story…

The stories are based on episodes of the TV series. It’s hard to believe, but this year it has been 20 years since I came up with the concept for 64 Zoo Lane (see my previous blog post 64 Zoo Lane- A sort-of-anniversary).

Like all authors and illustrators, I’m often asked where I get inspiration from. As a child I grew up in a house full of animals. We kept dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, tortoises and even stick insects. So it’s no surprise that as an author I turned to animals for inspiration. I imagined what it would be like to live next door to a zoo … and started writing stories about giraffes, hippos, zebras, crocodiles, polar bears and kangaroos.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing and illustrating the books. Here’s a selection of oil pastel illustrations:

I will soon announce competitions and give details of events including one at Beale Park in Berkshire on Saturday 20th July and another in Harrow on Saturday 27th July. In the meantime check out these 64 Zoo Lane colouring pages.